Scalable nanoprobes could bring ‘cyborgs to reality’

In a paper published by Nature Nanotechnology, scientists from Surrey University’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) and Harvard University detail how they produced an array of U-shaped nanowire field-effect transistor probes for intracellular recording. This structure was used to record the inner activity of primary neurons and other electrogenic cells, and the device is claimed to have the capacity for multi-channel recordings.

According to ATI, the ability to read electrical activities from cells is the foundation of many biomedical procedures, such as brain activity mapping and neural prosthetics. Developing new tools for intracellular electrophysiology that push the limits of what is physically possible while reducing invasiveness could provide a deeper understanding of electrogenic cells and their networks in tissues, as well as new directions for human-machine interfaces, the team claims.

In a statement, Dr Yunlong Zhao from ATI said:  “If our medical professionals are to continue to understand our physical condition better and help us live longer, it is important that we continue to push the boundaries of modern science in order to give them the best possible tools to do their jobs. For this to be possible, an intersection between humans and machines is inevitable.